Updates & Announcements
An Invitation From the General Assembly Planning Committee
We hope to see you in Fort Lauderdale for an exciting and enriching General Assembly (GA), centered on the theme of the “Common Threads” that weave together the fabric of our Unitarian Universalist faith and community.
Among the things to look forward to:
- A unique and uplifting Opening Worship on Wednesday evening, centered around The Sources, an inspiring cantata setting of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Sources with music by Rev. Jason Shelton and text by Rev. Kendyl Gibbons.
- An Appreciative Inquiry process on Thursday, where lay and ordained congregational leaders are invited by the Board of Trustees to gather to discuss, offer insights, and help set priorities for our Association.
- A multi-generational Public Witness event, celebrating and defending the rights of Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, and Transgender and immigrant families, on Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., in a city park. We’ll blending advocacy and celebration and reaching out to the local community.
- A new all-GA contemporary worship service on Friday evening, led by youth and young adults, and Planning Committee. It will embrace the Bridging Ceremony and lead you in a Soulful Sundown worship experience.
- Special Featured Programs on Friday and Saturday addressing the issues of civil liberties and immigration policies, followed by Appreciative Inquiry sessions offering a chance to explore and wrestle with these issues in depth together.
- A Candidates’ Forum, where you can meet and hear candidates for the Unitarian Universalist Association Presidency in the upcoming 2009 election.
- Distinguished voices from outside our tradition, like Eboo Patel on “Interfaith Youth in the Age of Fundamentalism”; John Dear on “Peacemaking and the Questions of Jesus’; and Karen Brodkin on “Wrestling with Whiteness; The Politics of Jewish Identity in a Multiracial America.”
- A growing array of workshops and programs brought to you by our own congregations, with the sponsorship and support of the GA Planning Committee.
- An inspiring sendoff hour of Closing Worship with the GA Choir at 6:00 p.m. Sunday. (We read your feedback and found that most folks prefer that GA end in time for them to go home on Sunday evening if they’d like.)
We’ve changed a few things:
- We’ve restricted Plenary sessions to the daytime hours when child care is open, so that parents can fully participate as delegates.
- We’re offering a new “greening” option. When you register this year, you can choose not to receive your printed program by mail. You can pick it up at GA and save the resources used in mailing advance copies.
- Sunday morning worship is back, led by Rev, Marlin Lavanhar. We listened to your feedback about the importance of worshipping together on Sunday morning, so we’ve changed the schedule from last year.
- During Thursday’s Appreciative Inquiry sessions, duplicate programming will be offered, so there are programs for everyone, but no one attending the focused small group discussions will miss their only chance at another program.
- We’re experimenting with some double-session programs on Saturday afternoon, to provide for more intensive training and in-depth exploration.
Our fine local Volunteer Committee are working hard to prepare a warm welcome for us, complete with cool shuttle buses to ferry us around. We’re grateful for their efforts, and look forward to seeing you in Fort Lauderdale.
Beth McGregor
Chair, GA Planning Committee
For more information contact generalassembly @ uua.org.
Last updated on Monday, May 5, 2008.
